Access to Sealed Records

General Rule 22 governs access to family law and guardianship court records, whether the records are maintained in paper or electronic form. The policy of the courts is to facilitate public access to court records, provided that such access will not present an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, will not permit access to records or information defined by law or court rule as confidential, sealed, exempted from disclosure, or otherwise restricted from public access, and will not be unduly burdensome to the ongoing business of the courts.

Generally, all court records are open to the public for inspection and copying upon request. (The Clerk will assess fees for copies.) Public access is restricted to certain documents, some of which are listed below:

The parties may stipulate in writing to allow access to the public to any files or records otherwise restricted under GR 22. Any person may file a motion, supported by an affidavit showing good cause, for access to any restricted document. Written notice of the motion shall be provided to all parties in the manner required by court rule. The court shall allow access to restricted documents, or relevant portions of restricted documents, if the court finds that the public interests in granting access or the personal interest of the person seeking access outweigh the privacy interests of the parties or dependent children. If the court grants access to restricted documents, the court may enter such orders as necessary.